Researchers in China identify pangolin as probable source of coronavirus
Scientists earlier suggested it came from bats
File photo: AFP
Pangolins, the mammals often used in traditional Chinese medicine, have been identified as the probable source of the coronavirus outbreak, according to researchers at the South China Agricultural University in Guangzhou.
According to the British journal Nature, researchers Shen Yongi and Xiao Lihua named pangolin as the probable source “based on genetic comparison of coronaviruses taken from the animals and humans infected in the outbreak”.
Scientists earlier suggested that the virus actually came from bats but it was transmitted to humans by another animal, according to the report.
The deadly virus has so far killed more than 1,000 people and infected over 42,000 others in 25 countries.
